


Somewhere I never want to go

by PlushPyth



Category: Bastion
Genre: Gen, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-25 11:12:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3808231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlushPyth/pseuds/PlushPyth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short drabble crossposted from tumblr. Kid returns from Jawson Bog. They/Them pronouns used for the Kid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Somewhere I never want to go

A thud and a grunt of pain announced the Kid's arrival at the Bastion, the skyway slamming them facefirst onto the ground. Poor Kid, Rucks would say, obviously you weren't a cat in your last life. This time though, Kid didn't move. Their eyes were closed, almost as if they were asleep. 

_Now here's a Kid whose whole world's all right, snoozin' there on a rock in the sky._

Fresh grass tickled their nose, the smell mixing with the foul miasma of Jawson Bog. What would they see if they opened their eyes? Sure enough, they find...

_Peckers. Lunkheads. Wallflowers. Swampweeds--_

Zia stares down at them, eyes full of concern. “Are you all right?”

Kid blinks, nods, answers that they're fine. Of course they're fine.

_I'm just foolin'_

They accept the helping hand she offers, all the same. They stagger upwards onto their feet at last, head swimming. Zia allows them to lean on her as they make their way to the monument, humming quietly under her breath.

Rucks says nothing, his impatience muted but present. Core first, talk later, that's how it's always been, even with the monument fractured and with shards replacing cores on the Kid's errand list. Kid doesn't meet his eyes as they unstrap the shard from their back, silently hoping he won't say a word. 

_What do you say to a Kid who's seen too much?_

The monument responds to the shard, and Kid un-attaches from Zia to shuffle to the Arsenal as fast as they can. They reasoned that it would be easier to stand straight without their gear to weight them down. The Bullhead Shield goes first. 

_They have the nerve to flash the shield they stole._

Kid throws it across the room; it skids and slides before hitting the wall with a loud clanging noise. The hammer comes next.

_Their friend, they've come undone too._

The Cael Hammer soon joins the shield, the resulting noise almost loud enough to drown out Rucks' voice in their head. Almost. Their breath comes quicker and quicker as the repeater slides across the floor. A part of it snaps off.

_Years of work, undone in an instant._

The Kid lets out a cry and clutches their head. Their chest felt horribly tight and no matter how fast their breaths came, it wasn't nearly enough oxygen. It was too much, still being alive was too much. They crumple onto the floor, knees to their chest, praying to whatever gods survived that the walls were thick enough to muffle sound. 

When Zia finds them, they've fallen asleep on the cold floor, all cried out. She places their sleeping head gently into her lap, running her fingers through the Kid's white hair. 

\-----

She would ask, upon their awakening, what happened in the Bog. Kid makes a halfhearted promise as they gather their discarded equipment to tell her some other time.

"I have more shards to find, you know? Maybe when this is all over we can take a breather." They end the sentence with a sheepish grin and a laugh. "Later, I promise." 

She watches them take to the air on the skyway. They don't look back once. 


End file.
